MURTAGH'S MISERY.

NZ Truth, Issue 128, 30 November 1907, Page 6

MURTAGH'S MISERY.

A JOCKEY IN THE CRIMINAL COURT.

Found Guilty of a Cruel Crime.

HIS PARAMOUR TO BE PROSECUTED FOR PERJURY.

J The somewhat sensational caso of i maiming a child with a razor, for j- which offence the well-known jockey i Edward Murtagh was committed for trial m the lower Court, came before j Judge Cooper and a jury m the Wellington Supreme Court, on Thursday. The name of the child, which is abouij two years, is Mary Lorraine Tui Lci<rh. and Murtagh is its alleged father. Its mother, Frances Helen, I has been separated from her husband, Harry Leigh, for upwards of four years., and during that period she had been living, with Murtagh, off and on, to use her words, as his missus. The affectionate relations between the two became strained towards the finish, and there were differences of opinion about money, particularly as a separation seemed imminent. Some time back Murtagh remarked to his paramour that if he had £50 he would be able to start business m Sydney, and the. woman found the mo-< ney for a trip across the Tasman Sea. The prospects on the other side weren't encouraging, and Murtagh and; his temporary spouse returned to God's own country, where unhappiness knocked continually at the door and entered without permission. If the evidence of Mrs Leigh is to be believed, Murtagh was very anxious to lose his paramour, and actually did get away with £15 of hers. He represented that he had gone to Hawera, and the anxious female followed him there. A brother of Murtagh, who lives m the cow centre, gave her a letter which indicated that Murw tagh had gone on to Auckland. Frances Helen/ to make sure, .visited Ran-i gitikei first, and then proceeded to the city that is always howling about the 'Frisco mail service. Here Murtagh was more invisible than ever and the baffled woman returned to Wellington, when she discovered that the deceitful , personage who had enjoyed her favors had never been out of" that thriving city. Murtaech went to live at a house m Maodonald Crescent, and the lady, representing herself to be Mrs Murtagh, came and stayed there, too,

MUCH TO MURTAGH'S DISPLEASURE. The all-absorbing topic of coin ran through their conversation when they talked together, and Murtagh made an appointment to give her the £15 he had taken from her. She offered to go right > away from him if he parted up this cash, and m order to prevent' him getting, away, planted some of 'bis belongings m the room of Miss West, a nurse.*. Some of, his clothes she gave him on a Thursday night, and he asked her for tile remainder on Friday nighty He tlven*tokl her she had no chance of petting her £15, as with a portion of it he had purchased a suit of clothes, and "done the rest m" at a hazard school. After further conversation he threw the woman on her side on the bed and kicked and punched her. Slw cried, and the child also howled lustily. He remarked, "Shut up, you little b " and pulled at the child's dress. She i then noticed he had a razor m his. hand, and there was blood running down the child's left leg, which he had slashed above the knee with a • razor. Murtagh said, "That's what I think of both of you ; perhaps you have had enough now." Later he represented to the people m the house that it was an accident, and that the child had injured itself. Mrs Leigh made no mention of it m the Magistrate's Court, but told the jury that she could not work to support the child as she was again m trouble, ami Murtagh was the father of the unborn child. The woman wept copiously when making this admission. Other new evidence was to the effect that when Murtagh was com-, mitted for trial the woman went to her home m Hawera, and one niglyfc after supper Murtagh came to the wtindow of her ibedroom and suggested that if his lawyer asked her if the wound on Tui's leg was not 3in. m length it would count to his favoi. He also >

SAID HE WAS MAD

to cut the child, and said he had doneso.on the advice of one Marsh, a room-mate of Murtaghjs, who had taken him away from her. The woman' was severely cross-ex-amined by Mr Herdinan, who remarked, "I suggest that the whole of this little" statement about the occurrence at Hawera is absolutely untrue ?"— lt is not.

In the lower Court Frances Helen stated that the child had l)eeu registered by Murtagh (who filled m tlic certificate m her presence) m the name of her husband, Harry Leigh. Counsel produced the certificate, and the woman acknowledged that the handwriting .was very much like hers. If a girl inamed Olive swore that Murtagh was not m the house when the certificate was filled m, her own evidence m the lower Court on this point might have been mistaken. It appeared from other questions that the grass widower, Harry Leigh, spends portion of his time m gaol. Nurse West was one of those who came on the scene after the occurrence, and subsequently Murtagh spoke to her on the subject, and she suggested to him that it was an offence for which he might get three years', and he ought to plead guilty. Murtagh replied that he would not do ,so as he wished to prove his innocence to the world, and to demon- 1 strate what a treacherous thing the woman was. When arrested by Detective Cassclls, Murtagh remarked, "It was done by a b fiend." Questioned further, he explained that the fiend was Mrs Leigh, and he would "do twelve months to get rid of her." Since the proceedings m the lower Court it appears Mrs Leigh, has been served with a summons charging her with perjury when givine; her testimony m connection with the registration of the child. Murtagh, giving evidence m his own defence, said he was a jockey residing with his people at Hawera. 'He had known Mrs Leigh since August 8, 1904, and since that date he had been intimate with her, but he denied the statement that he had been living with her oil and on during that period. They had lived iv.gcther probably four months altogeth-

er. His relations with the woman had been immoral whenever they met. It was not true that he had stolen £15 from his fancy girl, who didn't possess that sum when they returned from Sydney. At this time he wanted to break ofi his - connection with the woman, and went to live at McDonald Crescent. She followed him there, remarking, "Where you stay, I'm going to stay." They had several rows . both inside and outside the house, but he had never threatened to do her any violence. At midnight on the 10th of October he missed his clothes from his room, and he found the woman sitting on the top of the stairs, she said, "Where have you been ?" He replied, "That is my business. I have been out with' my wife.

I WAS MARRIED TWO DAYS AGO and the best thing you can do is to go away, or I will. give you m charge." She began to cry and then Murtagh discovered the disappearance of his clothes and threatened to see the police. She then gave him some of his things. On the following night, Marsh, his room mate, had left, and the woman placed the child m Murtagh's room. When he arrived she gave him the balance of the belongings, including some collars and a razor. She asked him, "Is .it 'true what you said about being married?" He replied, "Yes." She then flew into a passion, and said, "You won't get out of here alive, you mongrel ; and if you do I'll cut your clothes up." She then discharged a bottle of cascara at him, hitting him on the elbow. He laughed. She got more angry and rushed at him, and he threw her on the bed and went out. At the top of the stairs it occurred to him that she might cut his clothes up as she had threatened, and he returned. He then found her bending over the child, which was on the floor and she held a razor m her hand. He asked, "What are you doing?" She didn't answer for awhile ; then she said, "You cut Tui ; I'll tell the police." Murtagh looked at the child and saw no injury, and asked " What are you talking about ? Have y6u gone mad ?" She placed the razor on the chest ' of drawers, and he went towards the child to pick it up. She, however, seized the youngster and lifted up its dress, saying, "You did it." Murtagh then observed the gash on its leg. and, taking the child, carried it out of the room and placed it m the arms of Nurse West. He then rushed out for a doctor and visited the houses of three practitioners, only to find 'that they were not m. At the dbor of the third he met Mrs Leigh, and together they went and procured the services of Miss (Dr.) Bennett. Murtagh said to Miss West,

"IT WAS AN ACCIDFNT, as far as I know." He subsequently found the razor on the chest of drawers and discovered the razor case on his bed. He said that the whole of the woman's stor-r about the nocturnal interview at the window at Hawera, after his committal, was absolutely false.

To Mr Myers, Murtagh said the child was born at Hawera, -where, he was residing with his parents at the time. After the child's birth he practically lived with the woman for six weeks m a cottage at Hawera. He was supposed to be living at home, but lie used to sneak away at night and sleep with her. He had kept the child since it was born, and had given the mother most of his earnings (£350, more or less) within the past few years. The money was earned riding horses. At some meetings he used to win £50 or £GO, and he was m the habit of giving her most of it. He had clothed her ever since he had known her, and had also clothed the child. He had contributed nothing since October as he lost everything he had (between £20 or £30) at Christchurch m August. He was living on the woman during the Sydney trip, but objected to the term "sponging." She had "sponged"' on him for three years. He wanted to get rid of her for various reasons. He saw a man m her room m Sydney .and she picked up with another man m Wellington. The man Marsh had been paying MurtagVs board and supplying him with pocket money at McDonald Crescent. He didn't intend to maintain the child m the future, as from things Jie had heard lately he didn't believe lie was the father of it. Witness qualified this by saying that lie would maintain the child if it were taken from the mother. He said Marsh was a horse trainer.

Is he not a spieler ?— He's a horse trainer.

Don't you know what a spieler is ? -No. •

His Honor : You are a jockey, and you don't know what a spieler is ?— They are out of date, now, your Honor.

stated that Marsh was nowa bookmaker. He said, frankly, that he got Mrs Leigh to go ,to Hawera by a stratagem, and 'had written a letter which would cause her to go on to Auckland. Once rid of her, he hoped to get away to the South Island. He gave the woman £1, and he anticipated that she would go to Hawera to her friends, who were fairly affluent. He thought that the injury to the child was an accident, until he found the razor-case on the Wi\ ;. then it dawned upon him that Mrs Leigh had taken the razor from the drawer, possibly with the intention of cutting Murtagh 1 s clothes up, and cut the child because Murtagh told her he was married. To his Honor : He was not married. Mr ivivors : She was crying when you went out of the room" • \lo you say she was putting it on ?—

SHE'S A BORN ACTRESS. I wouldn't be surprised if she put. it on. bhe was on the stage before I picked her up. Murtagh said lie had informed the people m the house it was an accident because he wanted to shield the woman. He didn't think Mrs Lei"ii would inform the police ; the case was so disgraceful that he wanted to hush it up, and remarked, "I wonder how she (meaning the child) got hold of it."

Re-examined, Murtngh said he had

exhausted every means m his endeavor to ,get away from the woman, until he got her out of Wellington by a ruse and afterwards told her he was married." He .wanted. ,to , .separate from her because he knew it was wrong for a married woman to be living with a single fellow, and he wanted to make amends for -what' he had done m the past. The much-dis-cussed person, Marsh, was a horseowner, and Mjuvtagh had won races for him. Mujrtagii said his own earnings as a jockey and by betting were between £200 and £300 a year, and he was getting regular employment m a racing stable at £1 a week and found. His father had laid the information CHARGING MUS LEIGH WITH PERJURY

m the S.3VL Court. It wasn't clear to him how Mrs Leigh had been living lately. He had borrowed £2 Gs from, Marsh to pay her board. He believed she hadn't paid for her accommodation at the Arcadia nor at the; Trocadero. In fact, she was expelled from the TYoeadero. Latterly she had been with her peop3e at Hawera, and it had cost her northing to live. Most of yesterday morning was occupied m addresses from counsel, and his Honor's summing up, which was adverse to accused. The jury retired after noon, and after an absence of nearly two' hours, returned a verdict of ginUy npainst ,Murtag-h, who will be brought up For' 'sentence this (SatVuday) morning.-